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Edmonton County School Old Scholars’ Association
NEWSLETTER September 2021
Website: www.ecsosa.org.uk
After many years as custodian of the
Herefordshire house and gardens, with
his late wife Julia Trevelyan Oman,
Lady Strong CBE, Sir Roy Strong CH
has hung up his gardening gloves,
downsized and moved to a town house
nearby. He has donated The Laskett to
the charity Perennial, who manage
several gardens of note. Over the years
many of our members have visited The
Laskett, but in future Sir Roy will not
be at home. We wish him a happy
retirement in his 86th year.
PARTY TIME—May 1952
By MARTIN HOLST (1951-57)
What did you do with a sweet ration of 2 oz? A small bar of
chocolate, tubes of Polos, Fruit Pastilles or Fruit Gums. The
gums lasted longer with Rowntree’s, encouraging you to
make them last in the mouth then award yourself titles of
Junior, Senior, Major Gumster or, for an hour, become a
Gumster in Chief. Anything sweet was a ‘special treat’, and
with meat rationed to 8d per person so was anything
containing it. Meat and fish paste were a way of augmenting
such meagre provisions.
There was no pressure for fashion as clothes were also ‘on
ration’, and you were grateful for what you could get. Shorts
for boys took less of the ration, and school uniform, winter or
summer, for years 1 and 2, was shorts, even on the coldest
days.
Food and drink were the great attractions of parties in those
days. There was, however , something different my parents
had to offer. They were health conscious and avoided ‘added
sugar’. This meant that there was plenty for making cakes,
bottling fruit, making jam and for ‘party fare’. We were also
vegetarians, and meat was replaced in the ration books with
provision for extra eggs, 3/4lb cheese and nuts (when
available). Cashew nut cream came in huge tins and was
delicious.
There were games (remember “Pass the Parcel” and
“Musical Chairs?). Drink included bottles of Corona,
White’s Cream Soda, Tizer. The highlight was food with
sandwiches, which included egg and cress and, most
memorable, cheese with pickle, or tomato rolls. Ice cream
was absent (no fridge in those days), but plenty of jelly and
blancmange. Cheese had the reputation (probably false) for
promoting dreams. And endless supplies of cheese rolls were
dubbed as ‘nightmare specials’.
My memories of Form 1 are happy ones. Homework was
quite demanding, but still allowed plenty of time for
participation in sports and youth organisations such as
Scouts, or in my case Boys’ Brigade. Television had yet to
become a diversion and was in very few homes. Radio
provided music, serials, and, for boys, ‘Dick Barton Special
Agent’ - I have yet to forgive the BBC for replacing it with
The Archers—‘An everyday story of country folk’!
This photo is of my 1952 birthday party How I wish I could
recall names. I am on the far left, next to me is David Brett?,
It is interesting how the Association has changed, or should I
say shrunk, since the 1975 Newsletter. We no longer have a
headquarters and no longer run any kind of sporting activity.
At one time we had eight football teams! With the current
average age of our members I am reminded of the Monty
Python football sketch, ‘Brain Surgeons versus Long John
Silver’.
Having said that I am at a loss to say anything positive, I am
sure that one thing to come out of it is that I bet many of
your gardens have never looked so good!!
David Day
Published by the Edmonton County School Old Scholars’ Association.
Any opinions expressed in this Newsletter are those of individual contributors and are published in the interests of information and debate. ECSOSA itself holds no collective opinions.
Page 4
Wed. 13th Oct 12.00 Noon. Lunch at the Plough. Wed. 16th Feb. ‘22. 12.00 Noon. Lunch at the Plough. .
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
“ALWAYS WELL
DRESSED”
By CHRIS BRITTON (1966-73)
Pam Perry’s item in the June 2021
Newsletter reminded me that I spent
all my 7 years at Edmonton School
avoiding games and P.E. lessons as
best I could too! At times I even felt rather sorry for Ian
Wolstenholme, who was the Games/P.E.Master for the
whole time of my school years. Try as he might He could
never get me to participate in any of his lessons with even a
modicum of enthusiasm, and frequently he had to read
excuse notes from my mother, which were patently of the
flimsiest kind. The only time I felt quite justified in not
taking part was when I had a verruca (remember those?) on
my left foot, which was treated for some bizarre reason at
North Middlesex Hospital by putting some sort of acid on it
to burn it out. (Yes, it was damned painful when the acid
was applied).
But, back to my constant unstated
feud with Mr. Wolstenholme:
Despite the fact that he could
quite justifiably write in my end-
of-term report every time “Must
try harder!” or even something
sarcastic, such as “More credible
excuses would be welcome”, he
was always more than fair and
confined his remarks to
something along the lines of: “Christopher struggles at
times with this subject”.
What amazed me then, and even now, is that he would also
usually add that I was “always well dressed”. Now, was
this just a way of finding something—anything— positive
to say about my performance at his subject, or did it fall to
him as Games/P.E. Master to make a comment regarding
the way pupils in his charge appeared turned out?
His final comment in Summer 1973
reminds me that I was excused in order
to attend extra German lessons. That at
least paid dividends. I went on to study
German at King’s College, London, and
graduate with an upper second B.A. with
Hons, degree, and to this day, no sport of
any kind has ever taken root in my
passions! I can just about watch a tennis
match at the standards of the All-
England Championships at Wimbledon (indeed, I actually
went there once while I was at Edmonton), but that is about
the top and bottom of my interest in sports—as a spectator.
NORMAN PALLIN (1953-59)
I go by the name of Norman Pallin. Pongo was my nickname
at school, but at sea it was Curley, as Normsky and the crew
called me, well, never mind. At Ford Research and
Engineering it was Garden Gnome, Mobile Muff (always had
a beard) and Storming (before the Gulf war). But, back to the
point. I left Silver Street Junior school for ECGS (as it was
then) in 1953 (with an 11 plus), and popped into form 1A and
David House. I was a retiring wimp, scared of everything and
everybody, and had no concept of sport. My father, who was
a bit of a footballer, got me a pair of boots and a pot of dubin,
but I just stood on the field’s football pitch knowing not what
to do. So, in the unlikely event of the ball coming my way, I
kicked it in a random direction. At the start of every match
the team leaders would pick their favoured ones, and at the
end of the process I was always the last. Same with cricket,
caught a ball on one occasion and dropped it, which caused
much fury. I could never find any interest in bashing a ball
around a field, unless it was for the amusement of a dog!
On wandering through my old school report—a bit tattered
but still readable, the most amusing is an entry from, I
believe, Mr. Elengorn in 1959: “Finds this subject completely
beyond him”. Odd, because I have lived in France for the
last 18 years and can converse reasonably well in the
language. Woodwork (Mr. Lowe) “Tried but has a great deal
of difficulty”. I now have a massive workshop and turn out
all sorts of bowls, pens, picture frames (to house my wife’s